If you are looking for a simple yet not simplistic universal rules system that gives you plenty of tactical crunch for you combat; this is it. If you love using polyhedral dice definitely the game you want. If you are tired of getting stuck in a class based advancement system this is worth the price of admission.

This game system came out of a mix of the very detailed Deadlands and a table top game called the Great Railwars. The designers used the experience gained from the above mentioned games and came up with a streamlined rules system that covers a lot of ground and presently has dozens of settings.

This game is for gamers who like to push miniatures around on the table top, but don't want to spend an hour fighting a battle between a half dozen figures. I have consistenly been able to run combats with in excess of 2 dozen figures in a half hour or less. The action is Fast, Fun, and Furious. A great game for grognards and neophytes alike.

Perhaps the best "generic" RPG that doesn't use an abstract or "storytelling" system; however it does have a few problems.

Let me say first, Savage Worlds was one of the best gaming investments I have ever made. I really wanted to rate this game a 5; but the "problems" with the book make it a 4, sadly. It is easy to use, yet highly detailed. It is completely customizable without major rules modifications.

In game design, you are forced to make judgment calls and people will not always agree if Tracking is part of the Survival skill or a stand alone one. With SW, the GM uses his "setting rules" to make some of these "splits". My major problem with the game, however, is some fairly "silly" inaccuracies and some holes in basic mechanics.

This may sound very nitpicky; but the rules use a six foot "inch" "to be compatible with 28mm miniatures". Huh!? Even if two companies made the same size 28mm miniatures, 5 feet to would be more correct than six feet. 1/72 miniatures are exactly 1"=6'; but even 25mm miniatures are not 1"=6'. Problem fixed, easy enough, 5 foot or 6 foot squares depending on your miniatures.

The miniature conversion is just an example of some of the mistakes that were made translating "real world" items. Is a 44 Magnum more powerful than a 357 Magnum? Open to debate and may very with setting. At what point does a knife shift from "Improvised Weapon" to "d4 Weapon", the same. When does a Great Sword weigh 12 pounds, cause a -1 to your parry and is usable by a d12 Strength without penalty, only is a very particular setting. While I can "believe" a Maul could way 20 pounds (heavier than a 16 pound sledge hammer), the "core" rule book should not have said "Great Sword". "Barbarian Sword" could be a setting weapon. A Great Sword is real and weighs is at about 8 pounds and is EXCELLENT for parrying.

Again, I am not trying to nitpick. I have lived for years with D&D having a Short Sword, Long Sword and Bastard Sword when a Long Sword is a Bastard Sword; but they have a specific setting for their game. They can call an Arming Sword whatever they want! The core book lists the weight of armor and states that it weighs "much more when not being worn". Many U.S. Soldiers will be grateful that their Flak Jackets are only heavy when they are not wearing them. Well, until they put them on. I understand that listing an "Encumbrance Weight" is different than "actual weight". This is a split the Designer has to make and a "setting" may change it further.

In conclusion, Savage World is a MUST have game. They have even secured the rights to some games that have been "dead" for years and for many of them, conversion to Savage Worlds was a necessary improvement. The mechanics handle man to man and larger battles with the same ease and rules. Character generation is simple; but creates unique characters quickly. The core book is extremely useful in helping create your own campaigns and offers several ready to play.

With only minor adjustments this game could easily become an industry standard. I play in a lot of settings and this will probably become my new game engine for most of them. I just hate making "house rules" where those rules could have been easily addressed in the core book. I don't know if one is available; but it would also be nice to have a Players' Manual with just the character generation and basic rules.

This edition of Savage Worlds Deluxe is PHENOMENAL! It contains all the flavor and mechanics you would need to start up a new campaign setting. The listed rules are easy to learn and compiled in a quick-to-follow structure. There are alternative rules to add to your game, as well as pre-made one-page adventures. Not a page is wasted on artwork or text in this master compendium of Savage Worlds rules. Great for fast-paced, light-hearted adventures or serious, dark dramas. I've played the Savage Worlds system through space pirates, Dinopocalypse survivalists, and earth-invading brain parasites. Of the numerous alternative systems I've tried out, this has been my favorite, surpassing FATE: Spirit of The Century and D&D 2.0-4e by miles. For only 9.99? I would have bought this PDF for its original price at 29.99. It's fully intact and you can use the word finder function if you need to (a big deal-sealer for me).
I Highly recommend this file. 5/5 stars.

Savage Worlds is a generic cinematic simulationist RPG, with miniature skirmish rules. Savage Worlds Deluxe: Explorer’s is the newest edition, providing an update to the third printing of Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition. Savage Worlds is published by Pinnacle Entertainment, with settings Evernight, 50 Fathoms, Necessary Evil, Rippers, Low Life, Deadlands: Reloaded, Tour of Darkness, Necropolis, and Weird War II. Just under fifty companies have been licensed to create product for the Savage World game system.

The Rules

Each character has attributes and skills, collectively called traits. Traits are represented by a type of die, such as d8. Whenever a character performs a Trait Test, they roll the appropriate Trait die, add modifiers, and try to reach a Target Number, typically a 4. If two characters are in a conflict, they each make an opposed Trait Test, with whoever rolled the higher number winning out. A character also has a Race, Derived Statistics, Edges and Hinderances (advantages and disadvantages), and Gear. Additional rules allow cooperative rolls for characters, and group rolls, for Extras.

Sounds typical, right? Well, Savage Worlds adds a number of cinematic rules to the standard "skill roll vs. target number" mechanic. Aces allow "exploding dice", where an additional die roll is added if a die's highest number has been rolled. For every 4 points above the Target Number the hero achieves a Raise for the roll, for additional effects, such as additional damage. Every hero roll includes a d6 Wild Die, whose results can be used in lieu of their regular die roll. Bennies are "plot points", allowing a Trait reroll, and taking the better of the two. And so on.

Initiative is a slightly gimmicky deck of playing cards, with each hero and his allies, or GM group of whatever being dealt a card. Highest rank goes first. Jokers, however provide a temporary bonus and allow the hero to go at any time during the round. A Hold allows a hero to wait on another character's action, and interrupt with a successful Agility contested roll. Player Characters can either Move their Pace of 6 inches, or Run an additional 1d6 inches, with a -2 Trait test penalty.

A Melee Attack is simply an opposed roll of Fighting Skill vs. Parry. Ranged Attacks are a Shooting Trait Test, with Target Numbers of 4 for short range, -2 modifier for Medium Range, and -4 modifier for Long Range. Additional rules allow multiple targets. Melee Damage is the character's Strength die and weapon's damage die. Ranged Damage is the weapon's damage die. Damage dice can also Ace (explode). Total damage is compared to the defender's Toughness, and can have raises.

You've probably seen that crunch before, but the next cinematic mechanic is damage. No abstract hit points here! Characters are either Shaken, Wounded, Incapaciated, or Dead. If the damage roll was successful, the target is Shaken, but each raise causes a Wound. If the character was just an Extra (such as a minion), he's out of the combat. Each wound means a -1 on Trait Tests, and three wounds means Incapacitated. Keep a benny around to soak damage: make a successful Vigor roll to shake off those wounds! Or spend a benny to automatically stop being Shaken. Additional rules cover situations such as Aiming, Area Affect Attacks, Breaking Things, Called Shots, Hazards, etc. Tests of Will is a great cinematic mechanic, in which heroes can Intimidate the bad guys, or Taunt the behemoth.

Dramatic Tasks have their own mechanic. A standard Dramatic Task requires five actions (rounds) and five successes. Dramatic Tasks are typically difficult (-2 Trait modifier), but other characters can cooperate. Just don't draw a Club for your action, or the GM will inflict a -2 Complication, with disasterous results!

Horror and mythos game masters will like the Fright Table. The Fear mechanic is a Spirit attribute trait check. A horrific scene can cause a character to be Shaken. Something from the mythos will have worse effects! Both can result on a roll on the Fright Table, ranging from a useful Adrenaline Surge, to a Charisma-penalizing streak of white hair, to a heart attack!

An entire chapter is dedicated towards Powers (magic, psionics, super powers, weird science) using a power point system, and detailing specific powers. Another chapter is Game Mastering advice. The Bestiary chapter has both Abilities (similar to Edges and Hinderances) for creatures, and sample beasts. The book ends with several unconnected "One Page Adventures" designed for a single session of climactic play, plus some templates for area effects.

Buyer's Guide

I do recommend first downloading from DriveThruRPG the free Free RPG Day Test Drive rules, which come with a modern day horror adventure. The additional mechanics in the Deluxe book can be intimidating, and the Test Drive rules provide an excellent framework for new players and game masters. The pdf download of the Deluxe book does not come with a printer-friendly version, so if you don't plan to bring your iPad or laptop to the game table, also check your OLGS for the hardcopy Deluxe Explorer's Edition, for about $10. The Deluxe Edition has some updates, but the two editions are still compatible, and rules changes are on the Pinnacle website. Pinnacles Entertainment has the Test Drive, additional adventures, and other support for Savage Worlds.

I first played the Savage Worlds system in 2011. I was instantly compelled by it's streamlined character creation and rules flexibility. I could immediately see how this system could work in fantasy, modern, sci-fi, or any number of settings in between. The single largest compliment I can give the system is that the rules are simple, fun, and seem to disappear in favour of the story. This does not mean the rules are watered down. Grant it, they are not punchy like GURPS but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If anything, Savage Worlds seems to have found a great balance between the story and the rules.

For the time being, Savage Worlds will be our system of choice in our gaming group.

While on vacation recently, I stopped by a game store and found the print version of this book. I picked it up and read through it and was amazed at the quality it contained. This book is an amazing value at just $10.

I've played Savage Worlds before and have read the old Explorer's Edition extensively. The rules in the Deluxe version are not a great departure from what was in the previous book. The basics are all there and there have been some minor tweaks to the system. The most notable change was the elimination of the Guts skill from the core rules, which I think is a great move.

The thing that stands out to me the most from this book are the Situational Rules. There was a section in the old book with the same name, but the section stands out so much more in Deluxe. I think part of it has to do with the development notes that are strewn throughout the entire book. And there are now rules for social conflict! Woo!

All in all, this is a wonderful product, and it's so freakin' gorgeous! The value you get is worth way more than the $10 that you're spending. If you dig Savage Worlds, you really can't be without this book. And, if you've never played Savage Worlds, this book is the perfect entry for you. All the rules to play any kind of game you want, at the tip of your fingers.

Savage Worlds Deluxe is a great system for streamlined and intuitive gaming! Well thought out and versatile, it makes a great basis for a huge variety of game settings and scenarios. Less number crunching and stat checking leaves room for more spontaneous and creative roleplaying. Give it a try and see for yourself. Hopefully more popular games will soon offer versions converted to the SW system!

This is one of my favorite gaming system to play, ever, and that is after 25 years of playing RPGs. You buy this, especially at $10, you won't go wrong. I have both the print and pdf now and LOVE the system! I can't say enough good things about Savage Worlds.

We played this for the first time the other night. I like the quick character creation and swift combat rules. We picked up the system very quickly. The inclusion of poker chips and playing cards as aids was fun and it was nice as GM to give out "benny" awards rather than having to give XP.

Why not five stars?

The character progress is much steadier than than D&D or GURPS, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but will probably upset power gamers. The high level combat also gets a bit broken. With raises being given out for every 4 points beyond the target number dice rolls with large variance are going to cause wildly different effects. I'd like to see the threshold for raises scale in relation to toughness so a high level creature/npc/vehicle/pc would have to have maybe 6 or more to get a raise to wound them. I'll try it out a bit more but I think that will undoubtedly become a house rule. A simple table of toughness to raise threshold fixes that without complicating the rules.

The book itself is laid out well and includes a beastiary without needing to buy a supplement. Yay! It would have been nice to have some more npc stats too, such as a mixture of guards, common people (or whatever) as standard but I suppose those will be in the supplements. It doesn't take long to knock them up but GMs are lazy. There are sample wild card characters in there to start play quickly which means you could be starting a game from scratch in minutes.

The vehicle/items list as more than sufficient for instant play but I would have liked to have seen some rules for flying/space combat. It felt like those were missing especially in my Sci-fi campaign.

Overall a very flexible and fun system. I emphasize the "fun" aspect. Having been playing GURPS for two years it's very nice to get away from the simulation style game to something more swashbuckly. I noticed my players were just having fun rather than adding up stats and modifiers even in the first session. I'd happily recommend it to any level of gamer and expect to get a lot of use out of it. If Pinnacle just did one of two of the tweaks I mentioned I'd happily have given this five stars.

I've been running Savage Worlds at game conventions since 2003. Most of you in the gaming community know me as "Lord Mhor". This new edition is excellent. The best rules from the previous editions have been compiled with material gathered from other sources, making this the best comprehensive representation of Savage Worlds so far.

The rules are well-organized. Clarifications of system elements that were once confusing will help new and veteran players experience a fast and rewarding game.

The art is nice. Pages 7 - 15 are well-rendered advertisements for some of the excellent settings published for the system. Each of these settings has the virtue of a "twist" on the usual stereotypes encountered in the role-playing genres. These art pieces add nothing to the rules, but they're well done anyway.

The list of Powers is extensive. Variations in game style have been systematized under Setting Rules. Large encounters are covered with a concise Mass Battle system. Rules for chases have been improved and interludes between scenes now have a systematic approach. The excellent selection of creatures in the bestiary include circular images that well-sized tor use as markers on the gaming table, if desired.

As in all publications, some errors were caught after printing. The errata sheet can be downloaded from http://peginc.com/Downloads/SWD/SWDUpdates_Errata.pdf . For my own copy of the hardbound edition, I just cut the sheet down to size and pasted it to the blank page right after the character sheet in the back.

With lots of support, both publisher and 3rd party, this game is really flexible. (As shown on from the front cover.) It is well written and well laid out. If you're looking for a new, simple, yet deep game I would recommend checking it out.

I think I could run a Savage Worlds game just fine, so long as no one chose anything from the "Powers" section of the rule book ;)

The reason I say this is not because the powers look all that difficult to grasp, but for someone that grew up on D&D and the like, it's a whole new language to learn. I think the next time I get to play in a SW game, I'm going to play a Powers user so I can get a hands on feel for the system.

Now that that is out of the way, the powers section looks really nice. Powers are initially broken down by Arcane Backgrounds - Magic, Psionics, Weird Science, Super Powers and Miracles. Trappings and Effects allow powers to be tweaked and individualized, so no two fireballs (or anything else) will necessarily be the same from different casters. I like the ability to individualize powers while still keeping to a defined list. It's a pretty neat system, I just need to get comfortable with it.

I really like the total package that is Savage Worlds Deluxe - I just need to spend some time as a player before trying to run a game with it.

Great mid-level system with lots of settings and support. I think there is a very large opening for Savage Worlds in the rpg gaming world... and this new version has come at a good time. Best of luck to them!

As this is an expanded book of the base Savage Worlds Explorer Edition, I will refer you to my review of that for details on the overall system. The summary is that it is very easy to learn, extremely fun to play, and adaptable to just about any genre of play. My group uses it quite readily for a number of games from sci-fi to western and hilarious to horror. It's flexible and best of all you can make a character in 10 minutes if you know the system AND they will have great mechanics behind your RP (Hindrances and Edges).

This book expands and refines the rules found in the 3rd Explorer Edition. I love what is added. I purchased the book even though Pinnacle is releasing the changes slowly on their website for those of you with an older edition. I think it's worth the money. There is gorgeous artwork throughout. Everything is now in one place. They even added in some general tips throughout to improve your games.

Now the additions. First, they added vehicles back in which is very cool. I love having tons of options already statted out for me to use. You can reskin or tweak as you go, so you keep the flexibility. The race creation rules are included which are very useful for home brew games. Almost anything is able to be recreated with balance maintained. There is a focus on mass combat as well. This is tricky for any system and I like the simple, yet elegant way Savage Worlds handles it. You can pit rival armies against each other and even have your heroes join the fray to sway the battle in their favor or die horribly.

If you don't have a Savage Worlds core rulebook, this is for you. If you already have one, I'd still pick it up. It's just too good not to and I feel like it's good to support the effort that went into this product. I can't wait to run a game with all the new stuff. Maybe orcs in tanks against fishmen in planes!